Better diagnosis behind rise in autism

In a recent MSNBC feature they unveiled new research that shows Autism cases on the rise. New figures released last week from a government study show 1 in 88 children as being treated for Autism and related disorders – or roughly 1 million U.S. children and teens. Previous estimates in 2006 showed 1 in 110.

Health officials attribute the increase largely to better recognition of cases, through wide screening and better diagnosis. The CDC study is the most comprehensive U.S. investigation of autism prevalence to date. Researcher gathered data from areas in 14 states — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin – looking specifically at 8-year-old children (the common age of diagnosis). The researchers checked health and school records to see which children met the criteria for autism, even if they hadn’t been formally diagnosed and calculated how common autism was in each location and overall.

The study also found that autism disorders were almost five times more common in boys, and that an increasingly large proportion of children with autism have IQs of 85 or higher — a finding that contradicts a past assumption that most autistic kids had IQs of 70 or lower.